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Residents urge moratorium, clearer rules on data centers during Jefferson County meeting
Summary
During public comment at the July 9 meeting, several residents urged the county to adopt a 12-month moratorium or specific ordinances to regulate data centers, citing concerns about water use, continuous operations, noise, decommissioning and economic impacts; commissioners did not adopt a moratorium and cited pending litigation and zoning processes.
Multiple Jefferson County residents used the July 9 public-comment period to press commissioners for stricter rules or a temporary moratorium on new data-center permits, saying the county's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) lacks a specific definition and development standards for those facilities.
A speaker who identified himself only in the transcript as speaker 2 proposed a 12-month moratorium on permits for data centers while the county forms a study group of elected officials and citizens to draft ordinance language on items ranging from a clear UDO definition to setbacks, sound levels, backup generators, water rights verification, wastewater assurances, decommissioning plans, lighting plans and hazardous-material disclosures. "Proposed a 12 month moratorium on the issuance of permits to any person, firm, or entity seeking to place or install a data center on any property in Jefferson County," the commenter read into the record.
Several attendees highlighted examples from other Indiana counties. A commenter (speaker 17) said Miami County moved rapidly to adopt a data-center ordinance and noted statewide activity: "We have 11 counties now that have specific regulatory ordinances for data centers and 18 that have introduced temporary moratoriums," the speaker said. Another resident (speaker 3) said public trust had been eroded and asked that officials openly discuss moratoria or ordinances so citizens' concerns are considered.
Speakers raised specific local concerns: sustained noise that does not stop, heavy water usage for cooling systems despite claims of closed-loop glycol systems, possible long-term infrastructure and traffic changes, temporary construction workforce impacts on housing and business, and the risk that promised local jobs will be fewer or remote. One commenter (speaker 18) said companies sometimes will not reveal their names during early negotiations and questioned tax incentives such as ERA exemptions.
Commissioners and staff responded largely with procedural explanations. The chair (speaker 4) and staff said the county had been advised by the county attorney not to discuss the ongoing injunction and litigation related to an earlier data-center matter, and noted that a zoning administrator previously determined that a data center fits within heavy industrial zoning. Commissioners said any moratorium would require public hearing steps and that the board could be guided by the outcome of litigation and by the formal public-review process for development applications.
No moratorium, ordinance or binding action was adopted at the July 9 meeting. The public-comment period concluded and the board adjourned after routine business. Residents who asked for ordinance changes encouraged continued public pressure and follow-up at future meetings.
What happens next: Citizens requested clearer, written development standards for data centers and asked commissioners to consider formal study and ordinance drafting. Commissioners said they will follow legal guidance, zoning procedures and any required public hearings before taking regulatory action.
